The interactive role of methane beyond a reactant in crude oil upgrading

Abstract

Crude oil upgrading under methane has been reported to be an economically and environmentally promising process, while the advantageous effect of methane beyond a reactant is not fully explained. In this work, the catalytic performances, physicochemical properties and regenerability of used catalysts after crude oil upgrading under methane and nitrogen are investigated by n-butylbenzene model compound studies, catalyst characterizations and density functional theory calculations. Comparing to nitrogen, methane exhibits a protective effect on the charged catalyst despite the limited conversion, leading to better product quality and catalyst stability. This protective effect is attributed to the interaction between methane and catalytic active sites, which mainly occurs in the internal pores of the zeolitic catalyst support, resulting in unique coke distribution and inhibition of metal deposition. The interactive role of methane beyond a reactant, which is previously underestimated, is suggested to be critical for better performances of catalysts in relevant reaction processes.

Non-thermal plasma catalysis driven sustainable pyrolysis oil upgrading to jet fuel under near-ambient conditions

“…Catalysts with weak acidity tend to dissociate hydrogen protons, a trait favorable for dehydrogenation reactions, which leads to the creation of carbon cations serving as precursors for coke formation. 37…”

Methane assisted catalyst synthesis and catalytic conversion of oleic acid

“…It has recently been observed that methane adsorption is preferential in the internal pores of porous structures such as ZSM-5. 28 The enhancement of mesoporosity can be achieved by post treatment with NaOH, but this can result in desilication and alteration of the acid sites which is not desirable for this reaction, where a pre-determined Brønsted acidity is crucial for methane activation and aromatization. Furthermore, techniques such as this can be time-consuming and not cost effective at the commercial scale.…”

In‐Liquid Plasma Catalysis: Tools for Sustainable H2‐free Heavy Oils Upgrading

“…Investigating the potential of CH 4 as a cost-effective alternative plasma gas could lead to significant advancements in the field of heavy oil upgrading, providing a more sustainable and economically viable approach to this critical industrial process as it can remove the H 2 production step either from endothermic CH 4 reforming or water electrolysis. [4] We, therefore, conceive the use of CH 4 for catalytic upgrading heavy oils with in-liquid plasma in this scenario.…”

“…[3] Heavy oil's high viscosity poses challenges throughout the extraction, transportation, and refining process, owing to its complex composition containing high molecular weight hydrocarbons, sulfur, nitrogen, oxygen, and metals. [4] The thermal upgrading of heavy oil typically follows two main pathways: carbon rejection and hydrogen addition. [5] Carbon rejection techniques involve extracting light products through thermal cracking methods like delayed coking and viscosity breaking.…”